Kentwood NeighborsTools and More for the Home

A Workshop Made of Heart and Steel

The facts, in this circumstance, are tangible. In the backyard of David Smith’s home in Dover, FL stands a steel building that he uses as a workshop. The building’s shape is reminiscent of a Quonset hut, it has a 60 ft. roll-up door, and the outside is painted beige with a dark brown trim to match Smith’s home. His father passed away in June 2009, and in his memory, Smith made sure to put his father’s name on the front of the building. A peek inside the building reveals three welders, a sanding belt, and various other cutting tools and equipment—much of which belonged to Smith’s father. The floor of the building is speckled epoxy, and Smith utilized the building’s corrugation to make shelving.

His reasons behind buying that specific building in January of 2010 are a matter of practicality. After researching workshops over the Internet, Smith decided to buy from SteelMaster Buildings in Virginia Beach, VA because the company gave him 90 days to pay it off before delivery, which fit nicely in with his budget.

Dover is located along Florida’s I-4 corridor, which stretches between Tampa and Daytona. As it is sandwiched squarely between the two coasts, hurricanes and other strong storms are common threats to Dover, so Smith needed a building that could handle the heavy winds. SteelMaster buildings are made with heavy gauge commercial grade steel and are also individually built to meet the wind loads of their destination. Add to that the fact that all SteelMaster buildings come with a 30-year warranty backed by its factory and the ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel mill, Smith felt comfortable with trusting that it would stand the test of time.

Seeing as temperatures can get very hot in that area of Florida, Smith also liked the fact that all of the company’s buildings are mill coated with Galvalume Plus steel coating, which provides a dry-coated, maintenance-free finish that keeps buildings cool in the summer and easy to heat in the winter.

Lastly, Smith wanted a building he could construct without any hassle. SteelMaster’s pre-fabricated buildings are designed specifically for easy construction and are laser pre-cut and pre-drilled using only one size nut and bolt. Every SteelMaster building includes three sets of engineered state-stamped blueprints and a newly revised construction manual. Smith says the building went up as promised, and with the help of 13 of his friends, that part of the job was done within one day.

So, while the fruits of his labor are apparent to anyone who looks at his building, and his reasoning behind buying that specific building are soundly lodged in logic, the feeling he gets when he is working inside of it is all heart.

Now 56 years old, Smith says that he spent a good portion of his life in his father’s workshop, working side-by-side with him on too many projects to count. His father’s tools, which he now keeps in his own shop, hold many years’ worth of memories, being handed back and forth between the two as far back as Smith can remember. It was from within the walls of his father’s workshop that he learned the satisfaction that comes from working with his hands and had the realization that something homemade has a value that can’t be defined by dollars and cents.

Smith eventually moved from his childhood home, his father retired and not soon after was diagnosed with colon cancer. His health continued to fail until he died in June 2009. At that time Smith was already on the market for his own workshop, but his father’s passing added an element of poignancy that was as real to him as the weight of his tools in his hands. Smith knew that for the years that his father battled illness, he never gave up hope that he would once again be able to work side-by-side with his son.

And in a way, he is. Each time that Smith enters his workshop and sets to task on building or creating or fixing, his father is there next to him. His memory is stronger than the steel building that surrounds him, and that’s a fact that is the most tangible of all.

About the Author

The author, Brenda, states the importance and flexibility of steel building. To build metal buildings on your own is quite reasonable, reliable and stabilized.

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